Tehama County authorities arrest 4 on owed child support

Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen announces the results of a warrant sweep Thursday that targeted people who owe large sums of back child support or who have not complied with orders to appear in court on child support matters.

RED BLUFF &GT;&GT; Four people were arrested in a warrant sweep Thursday morning that targeted people who owe child support or who have failed to appear in court on child support matters, District Attorney Gregg Cohen announced during a press conference held Thursday afternoon.

The county sweep focused on 10 people who collectively owed $285,745 in child support. Law enforcement officials arrested four people, and five others "took care of their warrants by complying with their child support obligations," Cohen said.

The four arrested — three men and one woman — collectively owed about $189,000 in back child support. Three were released on their own recognizance, and one was remanded to jail without bail until his next court appearance. Their identities were not released because they were arrested on civil warrants.

More arrests are expected and this first sweep focused on people who owed large sums of money or who have not complied with orders to appear in court.

In Tehama County, there are more than 3,300 cases in which back child support is owed, according to the District Attorney's Office. Payments are not being made in 43 percent of those cases.

"I think it's a credit to the local law enforcement agencies that participated, that they're making a statement," said Tonya Moore, director of the county's Child Support Services department.

"You need to take care of your children, and this is important."

District Attorney's investigators, Corning Police and the Tehama County Sheriff's Department assisted with the sweep.

Moore said there can be a variety of barriers keeping people from paying child support, such as a losing a job, but those people should keep in contact with their case manager and the child support services department.

"That will help us get them the most reasonable order, and hopefully make them successful in providing for their child," Moore said. "Which is the bottom line."

The sweep was the first of its kind in more than 10 years. Cohen added that based on the results, more sweeps will be carried out in and outside Tehama County.

"It wasn't something we were unwilling to do, it was something we needed to work in coordination with the Department of Child Support on," Cohen said.